Shuliy onboard fish meal plant is a compact, fully integrated fishmeal production unit designed for 1–5 tons of finished fish meal per day. Unlike a full fish meal production line — which is a series of standalone machines — this unit combines cooking, pressing, drying, and oil separation in a single welded frame. It fits inside a ship’s engine room or a small workshop, and it produces the highest-grade meal because the fish are processed within hours of being caught.
For more than a decade, Shuliy has shipped these onboard plants to fishing fleets in Somalia, Chile, Indonesia, Morocco, Oman, and the United States. This page covers what the unit contains, how it works, the technical specifications, and the operating data buyers typically want before signing a purchase order.
What Is an Onboard Fish Meal Plant?
An onboard fish meal plant is a self-contained fishmeal processing system that combines every step of the fish meal production line — cooking, pressing, drying, and oil separation — into a single compact frame. The compact design has three practical advantages over a full modular line:
- Small footprint — the unit occupies roughly 12–18 m², allowing it to be installed inside a fishing vessel’s engine room or a small workshop.
- Lower equipment cost — typically 35–50% less than a full modular line of the same daily output.
- Freshest possible raw material — when installed on a fishing vessel, fish are processed within 2–4 hours of catch, producing the lightest-colored, highest-protein fish meal (65–70% crude protein).
The Shuliy compact fish meal plant is the right choice for daily outputs of 1–5 tons of finished meal. For outputs above 5T/D, we recommend our modular fish meal production line, which allows independent capacity expansion of each processing step.
Technical Specifications of Compact Fish Meal Plant
| Modelo | 250 kg/h Integrated Fish Meal Machine | 500 kg/h Integrated Fish Meal Machine |
| Raw material processing | 250 kg/h | 500 kg/h |
| Yield | 50–60 kg/h of fish meal and 12.5–15 kg/h of fish oil | 100–125 kg/h of fish meal and 25-40 kg/h of fish oil |
| Fish meal yield | 20%–25% | 20%–25% |
| Finished fish meal specifications | Moisture ≤10% Fat ≤10% | Moisture ≤10% Fat ≤10% |
| Fish oil yield | 5%–8% | 5%–8% |
Note: There are two heating methods for this onboard fish meal plant, respectively:
- Electric heating – Thermal oil heater
- Steam heating – Boiler configuration
Both models are CE-marked, ship in a single 40HQ container, and are delivered with a complete installation manual, P&ID drawing, and PLC ladder program.
Advantages of 1-5T/D Onboard Fish Meal Plant Machine
- Lower capital investment
- The integrated design costs roughly 35–45% less than an equivalent-capacity modular line, making it the most common entry point for small operators and fishing cooperatives.
- Compact footprint
- The cooking, pressing, and drying sections are vertically stacked on a single welded frame. A 5T/D unit fits inside a 24 m² cabin.
- Stable operation on a moving ship
- Shuliy’s onboard fish meal unit is designed for vessel motion. The plant runs continuously in sea state 4 conditions without measurable vibration, even with a 30 cm hull roll.
- Freshest raw material, lightest meal color
- Whole fish processed within 2–4 hours of catch retains a pale, golden color. The meal sells at the top of the feed-grade price band — typically 8–15% above meal made from chilled or frozen fish. For buyers targeting aquaculture or pet-food markets, this color premium alone can shorten the plant’s payback period by 2–3 months.
Working Principle: How Fish Becomes Fish Meal in One Unit
The Shuliy onboard fish meal plant uses a continuous four-step process. Raw fish enters at the top, finished meal exits at the bottom — and the operator only needs to monitor steam pressure and outlet temperature.
- Cook — small fish are fed by screw conveyor into the jacketed fish cooking machine, where steam at 0.6 MPa heats the mass to 90–95 °C. Protein coagulates and bound water is released.
- Prensa — the cooked mass drops into the twin-screw screw press, which squeezes out water, oil, and soluble protein. The pressed cake retains about 50% moisture.
- Dry — the cake enters the rotating fish meal dryer drum, heated internally by steam coils. The drum slowly rotates, exposing the meal to the hot surface until moisture drops below 10%.
- Separate — the liquid from the press is routed to the horizontal centrifuge where fish oil is separated from water and recovered as a sellable co-product.
Main Components Inside the Onboard Fish Meal Unit
Although the Shuliy compact fishmeal plant is sold as a single integrated unit, the internal configuration is built from five modular process sections. Each section uses the same components Shuliy ships in our full fish meal production line — just sized for smaller throughput and mounted on a common frame.
| Section | Component | Material | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeding | U-type screw conveyor | SUS304 shell (2.5 mm) + 3 mm screw shaft | Transport raw fish to cooker |
| Cozinha | Jacketed cooking machine (Φ710 × 14 mm cylinder) | Q235B carbon steel jacket | Indirect steam cooking at 0.6 MPa |
| Prensagem | Twin-screw press | 16MnR blades (14 mm) + SUS304 casing | Mechanical dewatering and oil expression |
| Secagem | Steam dryer (coil type, Φ76 × 5 mm) | Q235B with 60 mm insulation + SUS304 skin | Reduce moisture to below 10% |
| Separation | Horizontal centrifuge (optional) | SUS304 contact parts | Recover fish oil from press liquid |
Optional add-on sections include:
- Fish cutting machine
- Fish oil separator
- Fish meal screening machine
- Spray tower deodorizing system
Working Process: Step by Step of Onborad Fish Meal Plant Machinery
This type of fish meal plant is very suitable for the small fishmeal processing industry, which can make a high-quality fish meal of about 1-2 tons per day. It can also be set on the ship for fishmeal making. With the features of space-saving and cost-saving, this integrated fishmeal plant is welcomed in many countries.
